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A driver of a stolen car led police on a high-speed chase through Windham that ended at Whites Bridge Road when police deployed a spike mat.

Police took Philip Audet, 28, of Cumberland Avenue in Portland, into custody after Windham police were notified by OnStar, the car security company, that a 2013 Chevrolet Cruze reported stolen in Portland was headed west on Route 302 just before 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Police tried to pull over the car near the traffic circle at Route 202 but Audet accelerated, reaching speeds of 70 or 80 mph, police said.

A deputy with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deployed a spike mat ahead of the car, which deflated its tires.

Audet was charged with driving under the influence, theft, driving without a license, driving to endanger, eluding police and criminal speed.

Police issued Audet a summons to appear in court and he was immediately taken to a local hospital because he told police he had ingested heroin just before he was apprehended, police said.

Some motorists who were uninvolved in the chase also drove over the spike mats and had their tires damaged, police said.

Windham Lt. David DeGruchy said the people whose tires were damaged were communicating with the county about reimbursement, but that the two agencies would discuss responsibility at some point in the future.

GRAY

Poland man, Chelsea woman arrested on drug charges

Two people were arrested on drug charges after a police stop Wednesday night on Route 26A in Gray.

Adam S. Uldall, 32, of 738 Bakerstown Road in Poland, and Ashley Johnson, 24, of 3 Allen Ave. in Chelsea, were each charged with two counts of possession of a schedule W drug after they were stopped about 11:45 p.m.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a vehicle traveling north on the Maine Turnpike was carrying illegal narcotics, according to Capt. Don Goulet. A gold-colored 1999 Chrysler 300 was stopped on the Route 26A bypass in Gray and searched by a police dog team.

Goulet said deputies discovered 100 tablets of Oxycodone and 28 bags of heroin. Deputies also seized $1,300 in cash.

Uldall and Johnson are being held at Cumberland County Jail in Portland pending arraignment.

YORK COUNTY

Motorcyclist outraces police in chase through 3 towns

A Sanford man was arrested Wednesday evening after allegedly leading police on a high-speed motorcycle chase in York County.

Anthony Gallant, 23, of 25 Old Post Lane, was arrested after a 10-mile chase that reached speeds of more than 80 mph, according to York County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy William King.

A sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop Gallant at 4:44 p.m. on Milton Mills Road in Acton after Gallant’s motorcycle was seen traveling more than 30 mph over the posted speed limit. King said Gallant refused to stop and accelerated instead.

The motorcycle fled for 10 miles through Acton, Shapleigh and Lebanon before police left off the chase because the rider’s operation endangered the public and himself, King said. Police identified Gallant as the driver and he later surrendered to police.

Gallant was charged with eluding an officer and passing a police roadblock, both Class C crimes. He posted $1,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in York County Superior Court on Nov. 27.

State police and North Berwick police assisted with the chase before it was called off.

HARRISON

Homeless man, 35, charged in connection with robbery

Police charged Moss McCole, a 35-year-old homeless man from Portland who was recently released from jail, in connection with a bank robbery Wednesday in Harrison.

A Maine State Police trooper responded to an alarm at Northeast Bank at 3:55 p.m. A man had entered the bank and demanded money from a teller. Customers and bank employees who saw the crime said no weapon was shown. The robber then escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.

Witnesses provided a description of the suspect, along with a description and license plate number for his vehicle, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

McCole was later arrested at the home of an acquaintance on Edes Falls Road in Harrison. He is currently being held at Cumberland County Jail.

McCole was released from Cumberland County Jail on Oct. 8 after serving 150 days for burglary, forgery and criminal mischief, police said.

HALLOWELL

Man arrested, allegedly pointed rifle at motorist

Police arrested a Hallowell man with a loaded rifle in his truck that he had allegedly pointed at a motorist earlier Thursday in Prospect.

Benjamin Hackbarth, 34, was arrested by state troopers after a brief struggle on Middle Street in Hallowell around 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

He was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, failing to submit to arrest or detention, and possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle.

Lt. Aaron Hayden said state police responded to a reported road rage incident on North Searsport Road in Prospect, which is in north eastern Waldo County, around 2 p.m. Thursday. A motorist reported a gray Ford F-350 had stopped behind him on the road and someone inside pointed an “assault style” rifle at the car’s occupants, Hayden said.

AUGUSTA

LePage: Emergency agency director retiring in November

Gov. Paul LePage says the director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency is retiring in November.

During his tenure, Robert McAleer oversaw emergency response during 12 major disasters, including the St. Patrick’s Day and Patriots Day storms in 2007, Tropical Storm Irene in 2010 and a blizzard this year.

McAleer was appointed MEMA director by then-Gov. John Baldacci in 2007 and was reappointed by LePage, who said he’ll miss McAleer’s “professionalism and excellent leadership.”

LePage said he has appointed MEMA Deputy Director Bruce Fitzgerald to serve as the agency’s acting director upon McAleer’s departure in November.

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